Review by New York Times Review
ROMANTIC LOVE, platonic love, parental i love - I'd hate to live without any of them.! But dog love took me by surprise a year ago, when it arrived relatively late in life s with Marco, my first dog. So, like many be- í fore me, I became a seeker-outer of dog books. Dog picture books, especially, which are easy to enjoy with or without a child. (If Î you doubt that, please watch the YouTube ( video of Betty White reading "Harry the ¡ Dirty Dog," which has over five million i views.) All animals have lessons for us, but none have as much to show fledgling hu- | mans - and some of us older ones - about finding and losing, playing and working, caring and staying true. And the creators of . dog picture books deliver those while blatantly dialing up the emotions - who can forget the scene in "Madeline's Rescue" where Genevieve gives birth toll puppies? In that grand tradition, these five new books are the pick of the litter. CORI DOERRFELD'S WONDERFUL "The Rabbit Listened" used a stuffed bunny to offer a gentle tutorial in the magic of staying quiet and letting children express what's bothering them, and now in GOOD DOG (HarperCollins, 40 pp., $17.99; ages 3 to 6) She tells a more playful but equally satisfying tale of a stray dog who finds his person in the form of a little girl who has lost her stuffed bear. Each page has just two words, one of them "dog" - "hungry dog," "hopeful dog," "brave dog" - while Doerrfeld's soft, pleasingly round illustrations make clear what's happening. Non-dog owners, beware the page where she turns to her parents and says, "My dog?" ANOTHER KIND of who-rescued-whom Story IS FOUND. (Simon & Schuster, 40 pp., $17.99; ages 3 to 8), by Jeff Newman and Larry Day, a sweet narrative that unfolds through pictures alone, with words appearing only in signs and objects in the background. We see a sad girl looking out the window, and a brown dog wandering in the rain. She takes him up the stairs of her rowhouse. He settles in, and she feeds him from a dog bowl labeled "Prudence"; she's less sure about letting him play with Prudence's ball. On a jaunt to the pet store to buy a new ball, she spots a poster: Someone's looking for the dog she found. She gathers herself and returns him to his rightful owners. On the walk home, a sad bulldog peers out a shelter window, and on the last page we glimpse that dog scampering out of view in her house. The story is so tightly constructed there's almost no room for interpretation, and I like that. The vigorous pen-and-ink art leaves a lot of white space on the page, with just occasional washes of color, adding to a sense that the book is a straightforward puzzle you're solving with visual clues, like the colors of the balls that belong to each dog. Of course, there's an overarching fantasy element - the girl appears to live with no parents and no adult figures intrude on her decision-making. But isn't that one of the best things dogs can give kids, a sense of their own power? THE DELIGHTFUL COMICS-STYLE GOOD ROSIE! (Candlewick, 40 pp., $16.99; ages 4 to 8), written by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Harry Bliss, stars a little white and brown terrier named Rosie. She has a pleasant daily routine with her owner, George, but she doesn't have any dog friends, so she's lonely. (You suspect George, a fussily dressed older gentleman with a balding dome of a head, may be lonely too.) One day, George takes Rosie to the dog park, where a St. Bernard named Maurice tries to befriend her. Rosie feels he's too big and loud. Then an irritatingly "small, yippy" dog named Fifi arrives. Again, no. Rosie is lonely even at the dog park. But a mishap occurs: Maurice almost swallows tiny Fifi. After Rosie delivers a strategic bite on the leg, Maurice coughs Fifi back up. She is fine, though her collar now says "Fif." Is friendship possible after all that? You bet! The newly renamed Fif leads the way, asking Rosie directly, "Do you want to be friends with a dog named Fif?" The final page shows a grinning George looking on as the dog friends play - and he's flanked by two ladies who must be the owners of Fif and Maurice. DiCamillo, whose many books include the Newbery Medal-winning "The Tale of Despereaux," packs an emotional punch in picture books, chapter books or novels, and Bliss is a wry New Yorker cartoonist and the author-illustrator of the sophisticated picture books "Grace for Gus" and "Luke on the Loose." Together they've created a remarkable guide to making friends: Be honest and direct about what you want, and don't bite. "Good Rosie!" is divided into eight sections, like mini-chapters, slowing down the pace and making it not just a good read-aloud but a fantastic choice for newly independent readers. MARLA FRAZEE'S LITTLE BROWN (Beach Lane, 32 pp., $17.99; ages 4 to 8), a parable about a dog with no friends who hoards all the toys at the dog park, is an unusual dog book in that it's frankly dark, beginning with the muddy colors and foreboding look of its tall pages. Frazee, the creator of "Boss Baby" and many other brilliantly funny and pointed picture books, is not so much offering a lesson as challenging her audience to do better, be more just and kind, figure out how everyone can get a fair share. The dog named Little Brown begins the book "cranky" and alienated, and at the end he's still cranky and alienated, only he's sitting atop a pile of treasure. Two questions linger: Is he lonely because he's greedy, or is he greedy because he's lonely? And how can we fix a situation like this, where a tyrant calls the shots? "Maybe tomorrow they would know what to do," the book ends. In 2018 America it's hard to take that as hopeful, but I'm trying. IF THE STATE of the world or anything else is putting you in need of a good cry, I recommend Laura Vaccaro Seeger's blue (Neal Porter/Roaring Brook, 32 pp., $17.99; ages 3 to 8). It's another book that uses only two words on each page. This time the phrases all include the word blue - "chilly blue," "true blue" - the better to show off Seeger's thick, brushy art and die-cut holes, which are reminiscent of her Caldecott Honor-winning "Green." Seeger walks you through the life span of a good dog belonging to a little boy who grows to be a man just as the dog passes into the great beyond. (It's a tip of the hat, perhaps, to the folk song "Old Blue.") The ending made both me and my husband cry. Our 8-yearold son seemed unmoved, but that may be because his first dog is still young. Still, his reaction tugged at my heart, making me realize that some day, he'll come back to the book with sadder, wiser eyes. Tempus fugit, but especially, it seems, when you love a dog. MARIA RUSSO is the children's books editor at the Book Review.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [July 11, 2019]
Review by Booklist Review
Little Brown the dog is cranky. But is it because the other dogs at the dog park won't play with him, or do they refuse to play with him because he's cranky? It's a conundrum that is only heightened when Little Brown decides to show his increasing displeasure by stealing the other dogs' toys, one by one, until he sits atop a mountain of stuff. The dogs huddle, pondering the source of Little Brown's foul mood. Should they play with him to get their toys back? Little Brown, for his part, wonders what to do, too. But as night falls and the contemplating only continues, the dogs decide to go home and think about it all tomorrow. This bit of Scarlett O'Hara philosophy may not prove entirely satisfying to preschoolers, but it might be a starting-off point for discussions about kids who don't play in conventional ways. As usual, Frazee's illustrations, rendered in pencil and gouache, have a high charm factor, including the endpapers that feature portraits of each of the park dogs.--Ilene Cooper Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
It's another day at the dog park. "The big dogs chased balls," writes Frazee (The Farmer and the Clown). "The small dogs ran around in circles. The old dogs napped together in the shade. The young dogs got muddy." And then there's Little Brown. With a powerful stink-eye and his back curved in resentment, he sits alone by the fence and seethes. He's been cranky for so long that nobody knows which came first: is he that way because he's lonely and ignored, or did his crankiness drive the other dogs away? When Little Brown finally acts out by swiping all the toys in the park-he sits on top of the pile, a canine king of the hill-the remaining hounds wonder how to respond, and so does Little Brown. No one steps in to resolve the standoff, the rain arrives, and all the dogs head home with the vague hope that "Maybe tomorrow... they would know what to do." It's not much in the way of a balm, but the book sensitively and successfully handles the idea that social dynamics can become difficult over time. Ages up to 8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Little Brown feels isolated at the dog park. The other dogs play and communicate with one another while he sits alone next to the chain-link fence. Frazee poses the conundrum: is his grouchiness the reason he's left alone or does being friendless put him in a perpetually bad mood? Fed up with being ignored, Little Brown suddenly and methodically seizes all the toys the other animals have been enjoying. Astounded at his actions, they all sit and stare at him in confusion as he perches, King of the Mountain-style, on top of his toy-hostage haul. Illustrations in gouache and black Prismacolor are in muted shades of gray, tan and rust. Thought bubbles let readers in on the dogs' bewilderment and indecision on what to do about their situation. And their decision is classic. The endpapers show every one of the 17 dogs pictured and labeled with its name, except for Little Brown whose photo has a question mark attached to it. VERDICT An open-ended story that creates a great starting point for meaningful discussion with young children about bullying and inclusion.-Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek Public Library WI © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Outside at doggy daycare, everyone has fun--except for very cranky Little Brown. He steals the other dogs' toys and hoards them, putting an end to their play. Questions arising from his behavior are left unresolved (it starts to rain, and the dogs all head inside). Illustrated in soft pencil and gouache, this open-ended study of social dynamics should spark young readers' own questions. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A cranky dog faces the consequences of his crankiness in this picture book.Author/illustrator Frazee's pencil and gouache illustrations show a cranky, scowling brown dogLittle Brownsitting alone against the chain-link fence of a bare-bones dog park. The hand-lettered text is a subtle touch, infusing a friendly warmth into the physical look of the words, and the illustrations are done in a warm, muted palette, and readers may subconsciously begin to hope that with all this visual warmth, Little Brown will find playmates at last. It's not that he doesn't have plenty of opportunitythere are many other dogs in the park. So when a ball rolls his way and Little Brown grabs it, this looks like the beginning of the end of Little Brown's isolation and crankiness. But he then decides to grab the other toys, and in a jiffy, he's collected a whole pile and stands on top of them, like a dragon hoarding treasure. Now there is a "dilemma." The dogs wonder if they should play with Little Brown in order to get their toys back (or would that make them cranky too?), and Little Brown wonders if he gives it all back, will they play with him, and what if they don't? Weirdly, this dilemma remains unresolved, leaving readers to continue the pondering: It becomes time to go and "maybe tomorrow / they would know what to do."A promising start dissolves to an undetermined, unsatisfying conclusion. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
